Ferrets are still not legal in California, but Pat Wright of La Mesa continues to push for change.

Wright, who heads a local pro-ferret group, appealed Tuesday to the El Cajon City Council to declare the city “ferret friendly,” similar to what neighboring La Mesa did last year.

For more than 20 years, Wright and “Legalize Ferrets,” a group of California ferret owners and supporters, have been lobbying across the state to have the animal taken off the restricted species list of the California Fish and Game Commission.

They have not been successful — and have been actively seeking local support similar to La Mesa’s City Council, which in the fall agreed unanimously to pen a proclamation declaring La Mesa a “ferret-friendly city.”

The animals are legal in 48 states. Hawaii has also banned them because of concerns about the animals being potential carriers of rabies.

The animals are restricted by some individual cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Ferret ownership can carry up to a six-month jail term and a $1,000 fine in California. Wright said that as far as he knows, “No one has been fined or jailed for about five years.”

Mayor Bill Wells did not promise to follow La Mesa’s lead, but said that he and the members of El Cajon’s City Council would look over information Wright shared about ferrets.

“I have nothing against ferrets,” Wells told Wright and Anita Higuera, another speaker who touched on the benefits of legalizing ferret ownership.

He agreed to meet with Wright to talk more about the issue, but later noted that he wanted to discuss the matter with City Manager Doug Williford and the city attorney’s office.

Wright explained briefly about the ferrets’ plight in California and misinformation surrounding the animals. He also acknowledged that the legalization of ferrets in California is considered a “joke issue” by most legislators.

Wright has expressed interest in bringing the issue up for local “friendly” approval in Encinitas and further north in Culver City.

“El Cajon, unlike Encinitas, is very fertile ground for ferret legalization,” Wright said. “There is at first a little incredulity as ‘Here come the crazy ferret people,’ but the request and the reason behind it make a lot of sense. A proclamation from the city of El Cajon gives us credibility.

“Legislators don't take us seriously. This would help a lot and we like being respectfully listened to.”

Ferrets are members of the mustela family, which starting in 1933 in California were deemed wild and prohibited to be kept as pets.

The Fish and Game Commission maintains that animals like ferrets pose a threat to native wildlife, the state’s agricultural interests, and public health and safety.

The department permits ferrets, but only under special circumstances, such as medical research or to take confiscated or rescued ferrets out of California.

Legalize Ferrets started a ballot initiative in 2015 with a goal of 92,000 signature but didn’t collect enough to move it forward. They have been pushing for regulation changes in the state since 1995.

Ferrets are the only domestic animal regulated by Fish and Game, and Wright believes the issue should instead belong under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture.

Wright said no actual numbers are kept on how many ferrets are in California homes, but he said he is certain that the state has more ferrets than any other state. He said that nearly one-quarter of the nation’s ferret supplies are sold to people in California.

Wright said that the moniker of a city being ferret friendly is “only symbolic but hugely so.”